Union Public Service Commission Chairperson Manoj Soni has resigned reportedly owing to personal reasons. Soni’s resignation comes a day after the Commission submitted its probe report against trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar and issued show cause notice to cancel her candidature.
Soni has reportedly resigned owing to personal reasons, five years before the expiry of his tenure in May 2029. “His resignation is not in any way connected to controversies and allegations surrounding the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) after probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar's issue came to the fore," officials from the Department of Personnel and Training told PTI. Reportedly, Soni tendered his resignation a fortnight ago.
Eminent educationist Soni, 59, took over as a member of the Commission on June 28, 2017. He took oath as the UPSC chairman on May 16, 2023 and his term was to end on May 15, 2029. Prior to his appointment in the UPSC, Soni had served three terms as Vice Chancellor.
A scholar of political science with a specialisation in international relations, Soni taught international relations at Sardar Patel University (SPU), Vallabh Vidyanagar between 1991 and 2016, except for the period when he served as Vice-Chancellor of the two universities. Soni has earned a number of recognitions and awards and has significant number of publications to his credit.
Sources told PTI that Soni was not keen on becoming the UPSC chairman and had requested to be relieved. They said Soni has now desired to devote more time to "socio-religious activities."
The UPSC registered a criminal case against Maharashtra trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar after it found she availed attempts for examination beyond permissible limits through fraudulent means. The police have also registered an FIR against her based on the Commission’s complaint.
A probe panel found she faked her identity by way of changing her name, her father’s and mother’s name, her photograph/ signature, her email ID, mobile number and address to avail examination attempts.
The Khedkar case led to allegations that the UPSC examination process was compromised, as it came on the sidelines of the NEET paper leak case.
The UPSC is headed by a chairman and can have a maximum of ten members. At present, there are seven members in the UPSC, three less than its sanctioned strength.
-with PTI inputs.
